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This piece is an extension of previous exercises I have done in which I attempt to describe a complex notion–such as a place or self– in a small series of photographs. I then create a collage from the images in order to further communicate the notion at hand. In this investigation of “place” I set out to define the feeling of a space with three images. The space I focused on was the courtyard outside of Alden library at Ohio University. I was interested in this place because of its eddy-like nature. I felt that it is a slow place or a still place; a place that is not often inhabited or, if it is, is inhabited as a place to “be”, as opposed to a place through which to move. I also saw that it was surrounded by “through” spaces which people often traveled coming to and from the library. This created an effect not unlike the eye of a tornado...

I’m currently an M.S. Environmental Studies student and am interested in closed-loop supply chains and integrated social, ecological, and economic systems. Through researching these topics and their literature , I encountered the work (academic, commercial, hobbyist) being done to develop technologies for affordable desktop 3d printing. These technologies hold awesome, existing potential with implications not only for the household scale manufacturing of some plastic products, but also already demonstrate a degree of their promise for creating objects of increasing material diversity (i.e. range of plastics, composites, ceramics, metal) and complexity (printing with multiple materials to achieve design requirements for mechanical, chemical, and electrical properties). There are machines that allow for small-scale production of recycled printer feedstocks, too. Having said that, I...

Leander Edmiston and myself(Dan Manion) have begun to experiment with a series of color-based video projects. Our aim is to explore the many facets of color, including its incorporation into storytelling and its emotional associations. Ambiguous and undulating inks confront the viewer with an escape from reality. Together we have begun creating organic-esque, complex, and abstract “colorscapes” that reference the natural world.

This work is beginning to ruminate on my environmental influences in relation to my interpretation of the world, an interpretation that is constantly morphing. This work attempts to address a communal need to define humanity. In other words, it addresses the ambiguity of the definition if the word “human”, by confronting the viewer with an uncomfortable and slightly manipulated image of a part of the human body. I use the experience of returning to my childhood home and feeling as if I can no longer exist comfortably in that space, because I exist outside of that community’s definition of “human”. I am categorized as “other”, which I think is an experience that can be universal. ​

In the junior level course, Place, Space, and Landscape our class was given the task of showing the passage of time. I decided to do this by showing the otherwise overlooked changes in Athens by accelerating a day to be shown in a matter of minutes.

During my second year as an MFA candidate in the ceramics department here at OU, I am exploring childhood recollections through recreation and adaptation. My hope with this work is not only to recall memories that are significant to my development, but also to revisit times in my life when important people (such as my father, grandparents, etc.) were still living and, in turn, still a source of comfort and safety. On to the project… For this iteration of the piece I’ve titled “The day I watched my Dad pull his gun”, I moved my studio into the installation space up at the Ridges for 2 days. During this time, I built loosely constructed wooden supports out of 2x4s that would eventually hold raw clay constructions of the human hand. I enjoyed working with raw clay in this manner because it allowed me to construct these pieces free of the anxieties most often...

In Mitochondrial, I am investigating areas of intersection between the systems of our own experience and existence and the systems or laws that control the universe at a cosmic level. By doing this, I am able to take areas of extreme unknown, wonder, and awe and bring them into my own sense of control by filtering them through a system of rules and guidelines. These intersections of existence also help to fulfill my own longing for connection to the universe as a whole and to make those ideas of extreme scale and unknown closer to our own conceivable reality. By viewing our existence in relation to the rest of the cosmos, I hope to create a sense of connection for the viewer to the universe as our home, but also to create a connection to one another. The spiral design of Mitochondrial is based on the golden spiral, or Fibonacci spiral, which exists as the structure for the arms of the...

We live in a world over-saturated with stimulation. Many people are overwhelmed by this stimulation, whereas others thrive on it. I am exploring the influence of stimulation in the form of color, light, and motion on a person’s emotional states, and the potential of fabricating it with design principles in mind. My goal is to create a dynamic environment to convey stimulation, through the use of projected imagery.